COMPOSITION EXERCISE – POSTMODERN STYLE
EXPERIMENT FIRST:
1) Using the following chords (or chords of your own choice), create a piece of music that
utilises rhythmic tension, alternation, and/or interlocking between different instruments.
NB. These egs have been taken from a piece with 2 pianos. You need to use at least 3 tuned
instruments. If you are using melodic instruments (not chordal), you may need to choose one, two or
more notes from each chord to distribute between the different parts.
Example chords:
1)
2)
3)
a) Experiment with putting
your rhythms into different
time signatures, such as 4/4,
¾, 6/8, 7/8 and 5/8. Try
alternating between the
different time signatures.
Experiment with your
articulation. Decide whether
you want the notes short, long
or accented, and where you
want accents if you do.
Example rhythm (using chords number 3) for two pianos:
2) Now choose a melodic instrument, and add a melody to the rhythmic section
you have written.
a) Try using faster,
repeated notes and build
up the melody in a pattern
that you choose. For
example…
c) Now try using longer
notes that contrast with
the rhythmic nature of the
other parts. For
example…
b) If you feel your
melody is too cramped by
a ‘busy’ accompaniment,
experiment with rests in
the accompanying parts
to create space for your
melody. For example…
NOW STRUCTURE YOUR PIECE!
3) Choose how you are going to structure your piece.
a) You may wish to create an “A” section by combining the two different melodies
you wrote with the accompaniment pattern. For example:
b) You may wish to create a “B” section by using the section with the alternating time
signatures.
c) Finish your piece off with a repeat of the “A” section.
4) Writing about your piece
Discuss the techniques that you have used, and the effect that you were intending to
create with these techniques. Be careful not to simply describe the music. Instead,
state the intended mood/effect that the music was designed to create, the techniques
used to do this, and whether you thought you achieved this mood. For example:
In the A section, I intended to create tension and an exciting mood
through dynamics, rhythmic interlocking between the two pianos and
articulation.
The first two bars of A are fortissimo for the melody instrument and
mezzo-forte for the pianos. This, combined with the syncopated
rhythm in the pianos and the interlocking of the rhythmic patterns, is
designed to establish an energetic and exciting mood. The sudden
drop of dynamic creates a sense of surprise, and releases the tension of
the previous two bars. This tension is then increased by rising
dynamic levels and rising pitch in the melodic part, supported by the
syncopated piano parts. These four bars are then repeated.
Although I think these techniques did create tension, perhaps it could
have been improved further by changing the piano accompaniment in
the 3rd and 4th bar of A (and subsequently the repeate of A) so that it
more accurately reflected the melodic instrument, both rhythmically
and melodically, creating more of a build-up, and hence more
excitement, towards the end of bar 4.
IN SHORT:
Composition:
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Decide on a structure
Decide on a style
Ensure it is technically correct (right rhythmic values, correct ranges for
instruments)
Writing:
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Use correct terminology
Describe what effect you were intending to create
Describe how you intended to create it (what musical techniques were used)
Say whether you thought it was successful or not.